EU countries have reportedly seen an influx of young men since Kiev relaxed travel restrictions in August
Politicians in Germany and Poland are threatening to slash benefits for Ukrainian migrants to prompt them to return home, Politico has reported on Tuesday.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, millions of Ukrainians have fled to the European Union. Their primary destination, Germany, has taken in more than 1.2 million Ukrainians, followed by neighboring Poland with nearly a million, according to Eurostat data.
“We have no interest in young Ukrainian men spending their time in Germany instead of defending their country,” Politico quoted Jurgen Hardt, a senior lawmaker from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, as saying.
The conservative MP criticized the decision by the Ukrainian government, which in late August allowed men aged between 18 to 22 to freely leave the country.
Poland’s right-wing Confederation party took an even harsher line, claiming Warsaw “cannot continue to be a refuge for thousands of men who should be defending their own country, while burdening Polish taxpayers with the costs of their desertion.”
Previously, all able-bodied Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 had been barred from doing so.
The number of young Ukrainian men crossing into Germany has climbed from 19 per week in mid-August to over 1,800 per week in October, local media have reported citing Interior Ministry data. The Polish Border Guard has confirmed the influx to Politico, saying many of the new arrivals are apparently moving on to Germany.
In an interview with Bild published last Thursday, the leader of Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU), Markus Soder argued that “we must control and significantly reduce the rapidly increasing influx of young men from Ukraine.”
“The EU and Berlin must exert pressure on Ukraine to change the relaxed travel regulations,” he insisted.
Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a bill that tightened the rules for Ukrainian migrants receiving state benefits.
In March, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said there was growing frustration at the sight of “young Ukrainians driving the best cars around Europe and spending weekends in five-star hotels.”
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